


Tonight, We Feed Again

by CaptainSchmoe



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Arson, Behavioral Addiction, Friendship, Gen, I grew up in Nowhere Eastern Iowa so that’s where that came from, community in-jokes ftw, rural au, you'd think this would be funny judging by the premise but it's actually not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2019-07-02 00:29:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15785238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainSchmoe/pseuds/CaptainSchmoe
Summary: You know that running joke about Jack and Mark always setting fire to their communities?This is a oneshot about them literally setting fire to stuff.





	Tonight, We Feed Again

Ever since he tried it for the first time, the urge was permanently there, eating away at the back of his mind, the same way the flames ate away at the insides of the ditch. It disgusts him to be so obsessed with doing something this harmful, which is why he mitigates and justifies acting on the urge by only lighting up things that no one else is going to miss once it's gone. The man-height grass filling the ditch on the side of a lonely gravel road, bone-dry from the recent month-long stretch of sun, was perfect.

It disgusts him that he got Mark into it, too. Because now Mark feels the same way. This is fun. Or, "fun" maybe wasn't entirely the right word. "Satisfying." That was it. It was satisfying to watch the world literally burn.

Jack never would've imagined Mark would be willing to do something so reckless and destructive. The first time he handed Mark the lighter and let him fire up the pile of newspaper and hay in the corner of the rickety old barn, barely standing on its last legs... He remembers it like it was yesterday. He remembers how Mark's hands trembled with the newfound power granted to them, the way his eyes widened with the realization that he was  _actually about to do this_ , the hesitation in his steps, the slightly labored breathing and single hard swallow. The attempt at a swift motion to get the deed done and over with, which caused him to fumble and drop the lighter. Twice.

 _Take your time,_ Jack told him.  _It's okay._

The way Mark turned his head away as he successfully lit up the newspaper, and then jumped back, watching with mouth ajar as Jack rearranged some of the hay on top of it to get it going. He did it. He actually did it. Jack was surprised he didn't bolt out of the barn right then and there in shame and fear of getting caught. But watching the fire crackle and eat up everything in its path as it grew and grew was too satisfying to look away. Only when it started to lick the walls did Mark (and Jack) book it, yet from a safe distance, continued to watch from afar. Mark's shaking knees had forced him to sit down on the cold and damp dirt, covered with the pokey remains of the crops that had just been harvested.

That was then. This is him now. Now, Mark is efficient and methodical. He surveys potential targets well ahead of time, he calculates the likelihood of causing harm to humans and animals, and he thinks nothing of the fire possibly growing out of control. It was a whole new side of him that Jack had never seen before, in the days when they had a normal relationship with normal hobbies. Whether it's always been there and Jack had merely uncovered it, or if he'd straight-up built it himself, he couldn't tell. But Jack loved it.

And hated it.

It's disgusting.

One of these days, they're going to get caught. It'll be Jack's fault for roping Mark into this. For spreading this disease to him. For ruining his life. People are catching on. Local news outlets are catching on that these once-a-month fires might not be random.

But Jack finds solace in the smile creeping across Mark's face as they flee the scene of the crime once more, and watch it unfold from underneath a willow tree about a quarter mile away. With its draping branches providing a protective curtain, and the new moon casting no extra light down onto them, they're sure to be safe for now.

"The ditch needed some mowing anyway," Mark joked.

Jack gave a little chuckle. "We're doing them a favor."

Little exchanges like these made it that much harder to quit. If only him and Mark didn't feed into each other so much. All it did was make Jack crave the next hit even more. Encouraging Mark to do it for the first time was the worst mistake Jack had ever made.

And yet he doesn't ever want this to end.

**Author's Note:**

> I've been thinking of making a bunch of little fics like this about Jack and Mark doing whatever it is they do when they're left without adult supervision. Feel free to toss any ideas at me. I currently only have two (2) more.


End file.
